U.S. patent application number 11/461579 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-08 for content media with format identification.
Invention is credited to Bradley Thomas Collar, Lewis S. Ostrover, Wayne M. Smith.
Application Number | 20070031113 11/461579 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37717684 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070031113 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Collar; Bradley Thomas ; et
al. |
February 8, 2007 |
CONTENT MEDIA WITH FORMAT IDENTIFICATION
Abstract
A content media such as a disc is disclosed having a portion
with content in one format and a second portion with information in
a second format. Typically, the first format may not be compatible
with some (usually early) disc players. If a user inserts the disc
into an incompatible disc player, the disc player reads the
information from the second portion and generates a message to that
effect to the user. The message may be a voice message, a text
message, an image, etc. In an alternate embodiment, a disc with
content in two formats is provided on a disc and the player either
plays one of the two formats depending on a default setting, or
plays one of the formats in response to a selection by the user
Inventors: |
Collar; Bradley Thomas;
(Valencia, CA) ; Ostrover; Lewis S.; (Los Angeles,
CA) ; Smith; Wayne M.; (La Canada, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GOTTLIEB RACKMAN & REISMAN PC
270 MADISON AVENUE
8TH FLOOR
NEW YORK
NY
100160601
US
|
Family ID: |
37717684 |
Appl. No.: |
11/461579 |
Filed: |
August 1, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60706175 |
Aug 5, 2005 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
386/239 ;
386/336 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 2220/2579 20130101;
G11B 2020/1285 20130101; G11B 2020/1229 20130101; G11B 2220/2583
20130101; G11B 20/1262 20130101; G11B 2220/2537 20130101; G11B
2220/2541 20130101; G11B 2220/2562 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
386/095 |
International
Class: |
H04N 7/00 20060101
H04N007/00 |
Claims
1. A digital data media comprising: a first portion having content
in a first format and a second portion with information in a second
format, said information including an indication of the format of
said content to a user.
2. The media of claim 1 wherein said formats have different
physical, logical or application-related characteristics.
3. The media of claim 1 wherein said first format has a higher data
capacity than said second format.
4. The media of claim 1 further comprising an optical disc with
different data layers, said first portion being disposed in one
data layer and said second portion being disposed in a second data
layer.
5. The media of claim 1 further comprising an optical disc selected
from a high capacity DVD and a DVD.
6. The media of claim 5 wherein said first format is selected from
an HD-DVD, BD, and standard DVD formats.
7. The media of claim 6 wherein said second format is selected from
a standard DVD and a CD format.
8. A computer-readable media comprising a first portion with
content in a first format and a second portion with information in
a second format, said information including indicia for a user of
said first format.
9. The media of claim 8 further comprising a lead-in area, with
said second portion being disposed in said lead-in area.
10. The media of claim 8 further comprising a lead-in area with
said second portion being disposed adjacent to said lead-in
area.
11. The media of claim 8 wherein said first portion is disposed at
a first data level within the disc and said second portion is
disposed at a second data level within the disc.
12. The media of claim 8 wherein said first portion is disposed at
one of a DVD level, a HD DVD level and a BD level.
13. The media of claim 12 wherein said second portion is disposed
at one of a DVD level and a CD level.
14. The media of claim 8 wherein said second portion further
includes a code selected to indicate to a disc player to ignore
said information.
15. A method of playing an optical disc having a first portion with
content in a first format and information in a portion having a
second format, said information including an indication related to
said first format, said optical disc being read by a disc player
that is compatible with said first format, comprising: determining
if said disc includes said first and said second portions; and
playing said first portion.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said disc includes a specific
code in said second portion, further comprising operating said
player to read only said first portion and ignoring said second
portion.
17. A method of generating an indication for a user trying to play
an optical disc having a first portion with content in a first
format and information in a portion having a second format, said
information including an indication related to said first format,
using disc player that is incompatible with said first format,
comprising: reading said information from said second portion;
generating a message to the user based on said indication to alert
the user that the disc is incompatible with said disc player.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said message is an oral
message.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein said message is an image.
20. The method of claim 17 wherein said message includes text.
21. A method of playing a disc having a first content in a first
format and a second content in a second format comprising:
inserting said disc in a disc player; identifying said disc by said
disc player as having contents in said first and second formats;
displaying a message to a user indicating that contents are
available in said first and second formats; receiving a command
from a user; and playing at least one of said first and second
contents in response to said command.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to provisional application
Ser. No. 60/706,175 filed Aug. 5, 2005 and incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention pertains to content media such as an optical
disc having a content portion in a first format, and a format
identification portion in a second format. If a user inserts this
media into a player that is incompatible with the first format, the
format identification portion informs the user that the disc cannot
be played. Alternatively, the media may have content in both
formats and the player may be compatible with both formats. In this
situation, the player allows a user to determine if he wants to
play the content in the first format, the second format, or
both.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Content is distributed on various types of media. Typical
media may include standard single layer DVDs (storing about about
4.7 Gbytes), multilayer DVDs (storing up to 18 Gbytes), as well
newer type of optical media such as High Density (HD DVD) discs and
blu-ray discs (BD). DVD players have become common in consumer
homes. However, these players are incompatible with the newer discs
mentioned above. Thus, a disadvantage of these newer types of media
is that, even though they look (at least superficially) very
similar to CDs and DVDs, there could be consumer confusion since
these discs cannot be played by standard DVD players. Therefore, as
high capacity HD DVD and/or BD become available and accepted by the
industry and the public, there may be frequent instances where an
inattentive or unsophisticated user may try to insert one of these
media into a standard DVD or CD player. When the player is unable
to play the disc, the consumer may get confused and believe that
either the player or the disc is defective.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The problem described above is overcome by the present
invention by providing a disc with data in two different formats.
For example, the content on a disc may be in a first format, such
as a HD DVD or BD format playable by a first player. However, a
relatively small amount of data is provided on the disc (preferably
on a preselected or designated area of the disc, such as its
lead-in area) that contains machine-readable data including format
identification information. Importantly this latter data is in a
second format, such as standard DVD or CD, and is playable by a
second player. It should be understood that the first player can
play discs in both formats while the second player can play discs
only in the second format.
[0007] In one embodiment, the data includes a message indicating to
a user that the content of the disc can be played only on a player
compatible with the first format, such as the first player. The
message could be in the form of video signals, audio signals, text
files, images and so on. The format identification information may
also include a code that could be read by the second player to
indicate that the format identification data can be skipped.
[0008] In another embodiment, a disc with content in said first and
second format is provided with a format identification zone. When
the disc is inserted into a player capable of playing both formats,
the user is given the choice of playing the content in the first
format, second format, or both.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a disc having format
identification information in accordance with this invention;
[0010] FIG. 2A shows a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view of the
disc of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 2B shows a block diagram of a system with a standard
DVD player coupled to a TV set and receiving the disc of FIGS. 1
and 2A;
[0012] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart illustrating the operation of
standard DVD player receiving the disc of FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0013] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart illustrating a first mode of
operation of an HD DVD player receiving the disc of FIGS. 1 and
2;
[0014] FIG. 5 shows DVD data including a message and a special
code;
[0015] FIG. 6 shows a flow chart illustrating a second mode of
operation of the high capacity player receiving the disc of FIGS. 1
and 2;
[0016] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart illustrating a third mode of
operation of the high capacity player receiving the disc of FIGS. 1
and 2;
[0017] FIG. 8 shows a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view of DVD
disc with format identification information in a CD format;
[0018] FIG. 9 shows a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view of BD
DVD disc with format identification information;
[0019] FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a system with a player
coupled to a TV set and being adapted to play discs in different
formats; and
[0020] FIG. 11 shows a side elevational view of a dual layered data
disc.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The present application pertains to media such as a disc
having content in a first format that is compatible with a first
player but is incompatible with a second player. For example, the
first player may be configured to play discs in a new format that
has not gained broad general acceptance while the second player may
be configured to play discs in a very popular format but is not
forward compatible with the new format. The first player may, and
usually can play discs in both formats. In the following
description, the first format is referred to as a high capacity or
HD DVD format and the second format is the referred to as a low
capacity or DVD format strictly for illustrative purposes.
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a disc 10 having a main data area or portion 12
used to record content and other associated information and a
lead-in area or portion 14. The lead-in area 14 is used for data
that provides information to a player about the data in area 12,
such as a table of contents. The lead-in area 14 has data in the
same format as the content in area 12, e.g., HD DVD.
[0023] As discussed above, a problem with high capacity discs, such
as an HD DVD is that they are not backward compatible with standard
DVD players. Therefore, if a user inserts an HD DVD disc by mistake
into a standard DVD player, the player is unable to play it,
thereby annoying and confusing the user. This problem is eliminated
in the present invention by providing a format identification area
or portion 16. Preferably, this format identification area 16 is
disposed radially inward of lead-in area 14 or within the lead-in
area, although it may be located at other locations on the disc 10
as well. Data in this area 16 is recorded in a low capacity format
that is compatible with current players (including stand-alone
players and software players incorporated in a PC). In the present
example, area 16 contains data in a standard DVD format.
[0024] Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, data is recorded on the
disc 10 in two formats: content in area 12 and lead-in data in area
14 are recorded in a high capacity format such as a HD DVD format,
shown somewhat diagrammatically at 20, and format identification
information is recorded in a low capacity format, such as a
standard DVD format, shown in FIG. 2A at 22. The format
identification may be provided using various types of signals. For
example, this information may be stored as a message in the form of
text, audio signals, video signals, and so on, discussed in more
detail below.
[0025] FIG. 2B shows a standard playback system receiving a disc 10
constructed in accordance with this invention. As shown in the
Figure, a standard standalone DVD player 30 is provided with a slot
32 for receiving DVD discs and an optional screen 34 displaying
information about the discs received, and/or messages related to
the operation of the player 30. The player 30 is connected to a
standard TV set 36. As discussed above, player 30 may also be a PC
with software adapted to play DVDs.
[0026] After disc 10 is inserted into the player 30, the player
looks first for data in a data lead-in area. As discussed above,
preferably, the format identification area is disposed inwardly of
the lead-in area 14 and therefore the player 30 finds data in this
area first. As described above, the data includes or consists of a
message, and instructions to the player to present this message to
the user. For example, the message may be a video message such as
"THIS IS A HIGH DEFINITION DISC THAT CANNOT BE USED IN THIS PLAYER.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE CONTENTS OF THIS DISC, PLEASE INSERT IT INTO
AN HD DVD PLAYER." This video message requires only a few bytes of
data and can be recorded in area 16. Alternatively, if area 16 is
part of the lead-in area and is too small to contain the whole
message, then another area on the disc is designated for this
message, and area 16 contains a pointer to this other area.
[0027] In another embodiment of the invention, the data could
include an audio message with similar message content. The audio
message is played on the speaker 38 of TV set 36. Alternatively, or
in addition, the data may include a text message. The text message
can be shown on screen 34.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows the operation of the player 30. In step 40 the
disc 10 is inserted into the player 30 and the player then looks
for, and finds the format identification area 16 in DVD format. In
step 42 the player 30 plays the message as discussed above, to
indicate to the user that the DVD 10 is incompatible with the
player 30. The player 30 then stops in step 44. In this manner, if
a user inserts disc 10 into an incompatible player, he is alerted
to the fact that the disc 10 is incompatible with player 30.
[0029] Most high capacity disc players are provided with circuitry
which enables them to read various types of discs, including CDs,
standard DVDs, and high capacity (e.g. HD DVD and/or BD) discs.
Each player may be set so that when any disc is inserted, a search
is conducted for data in various formats in a predetermined order.
For example, the search may start with data in the highest capacity
format first, followed by the next highest and so on. Once data is
found in a format, it is assumed that no other data exists on the
disc and only the data in the format found is played. If disc 10 is
introduced in this type of player, then the player operates as
shown in FIG. 4. In step 50 player looks for, and finds the lead-in
area 14. In step 52 the player reads the data in the lead-in area
14 and ignores the DVD message in area 16. In step 54 the player
plays the content in accordance with the lead-in area 14. Thus, the
player reads only the high capacity format information on the disc
10. However, the players may also be set to search for data in a
different order. For example, the players may be set to look for
data in the most common or popular format, or data in the lowest
capacity format. In these cases, if the player receives disc 10, it
finds area 16 first, plays the DVD message, and stops, even though
it can play the rest of the disc as well. In order to prevent this
type of operation, the disc 10 is modified by incorporating into
area 16 a special code or other signal that alerts the player that
the disc also has data in a high capacity format that has to be
played as well. This concept is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein the
DVD message is designated by numeral 22A and the special code is
designated by numeral 22B.
[0030] The circuitry of the player is also changed so that it
operates as illustrated in FIG. 6. The disc with a modified area 16
is inserted into the player, and in step 60 the player looks for
data in DVD format (22A and 22B) in area 16. If data in this format
is found in step 61, then, in step 62 the player looks for the
special code 22B indicating that the disc does not contain actual
content data in DVD format. (Alternatively, the player can look for
the DVD message and interpret the message as being the special
signal).
[0031] If the special code 22B is not found in step 64 then the
player assumes that the disc is a standard DVD disc and in step 66
its content is played in the usual manner. If the special code is
found in step 64 then in step 68 the player ignores the DVD data
and, instead, looks for the lead-in are 14 in a high capacity
format, and then plays the high capacity format content in step 69
in the usual manner.
[0032] Going back to step 61, if the player does not find any data
in DVD format then the content of the disc in the high capacity
format is played in steps 68 and 69 in the usual manner.
[0033] FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention. In
step 72, a high capacity player receives disc 10 and is looking for
DVD format data. If in step 73 the DVD format data is found then in
step 74 the player looks for high capacity format data. If such
data is found in step 76, then the player assumes that it should
play only the high capacity data. Therefore, in step 78 the player
ignores the DVD format data but instead reads the high capacity
lead-in data and in step 80 it plays the high capacity content in
the usual manner.
[0034] If no high capacity format data is found in step 76 then the
player plays the standard DVD content in step 77.
[0035] Similarly, if no DVD data is found in step 73 then the high
capacity format data is read and played in steps 78 and 80,
respectively. This embodiment does not require a special code
22B.
[0036] As discussed above, in one embodiment disc 10 is a high
capacity DVD disc that has a message warning in standard DVD format
to indicate that the disc is not compatible with standard DVD
players. Of course, this concept can be extended to other formats
as well. For example, a disc may be made that has a similar
structure to disc 10 of FIG. 1, however, the warning message is
provided on the disc to indicate that the disc is not compatible
with a standard CD player. For this purpose, a disc is made with
content in HD DVD format, an HD DVD format lead-in 82 and a message
84 in CD format 82, as shown in FIG. 8. The players for playing
these discs operate in the manner discussed above.
[0037] Moreover, the same principles may also be used for other
types of high capacity DVD discs, such as BD. Such a disc 90 is
shown in FIG. 9 with data 92 including content and lead-in BD
format and a message 91 being provided in standard DVD format as
shown.
[0038] Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10 and
11, a player 30A plays discs of both formats and is provided with a
slot 32, a display 34 for displaying commands and a control button
33. The player sends content to monitor 36 and speaker 38. Player
30A receives disc 10, it performs in one of the modes of operation
described above.
[0039] FIG. 11 shows a dual disc 10A that has two data layers, one
data layer 25 having content in a first format, and a lead-in area
(not shown) with disc identifying information indicating that this
is a dual disc, i.e., a disc with two content layers in two
different formats. The second layer 27 includes content in a second
format and optionally its own lead-in area (not shown).
[0040] When player 30A receives disc 10A through its slot 32, it
first the lead-in area (or any other area or zone provided on the
disc for this purpose) for the disc identifying information. When a
dual disc is indicated by this information, the player provides a
message to that effect on the display 34 and gives a choice to the
user to select each layer 25, layer 27 or both, preferably in
sequence. The user selects his choice using selector 33 and the
player then operates accordingly. This player can operate in
several modes. In one mode, the player receiving a disc first reads
the content in a default mode (which may be preselected as a
popular mode, a low capacity mode, etc.) Alternatively, for
example, in response to a preselected option, when a disc with dual
content is detected, the player provides an option to a user to
select the first format, the second format or both and then plays
the content in the selected format(s).
[0041] In the specific examples given above, a disc with data in
two different portions having data in different formats is
disclosed with the two formats having different physical
characteristics. Of course, it should be understood that the two
portions may differ in other ways as well. For example, the two
formats may be different logic formats, different application
and/or different physical formats.
[0042] The invention has been described as it is implemented on an
optical disc. However, one skilled in the art will understand that
it is equally applicable to other media as well.
[0043] Numerous modifications may be made to this invention without
departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *